Transcription

A rrange- ments for withdrawal from Ban dar 'Abbas, Febraary- March, 1763. Capture of the Naib's house and the Persian fort and evacuation of the
Agency
An office of the British Government and, earlier, of the East India Company. . 'Abbas, the Agent reported that none had any safe anchorage in southerly winds, and that all but Qais and Shaikh Shu'aib were uninhabited. On the above information the President and Council decided that Mr, Douglas might be allowed to go himself or to send his Second, Mr. Lyster, to Bushehr with an experimental cargo; but they declined to commit themselves, without further experience, to any permanent arrange ment. The Court of Directors, when the intentions of the Bombay Presidency came to their knowledge, agreed that in view of the arbitrary behaviour of the Khan of Lar it was now advisable to withdraw tem porarily from Bandar' Abbas, and they prohibited the landing of any more goods at that port; but they directed that a Linguist should remain in a small hired house to keep the British flag flying. With reference to the project of starting a new settlement, the Court pro hibited the taking of any steps without their express sanction, and they suggested that in the meantime the Gulf
Agency
An office of the British Government and, earlier, of the East India Company. should be transferred to Basrah. These instructions were issued in April ] 762, but they did not take effect until the following year, when the President and Council at Bombay informed the Agent of their purport and sent the ship " Prince of Wales," Captain Court, and the ketch " Drake," Captain Lindsey, to assist in their execution. These vessels arrived at Bandar 'Abbas, where the a Swallow/' Captain Nesbit, was already lying, upon the 26th of February 1703 ; and the Naib * or Deputy Governor of the town, sus pecting some unusual design on the part of the British, immediately sent to his master the Khan of Lar, begging him to come in person with reinforcements. As the Naib, on becoming aware of what was actually intended, showed a disposition to hamper the proceedings and absolutely refused to afford any reparation for the extortions which had been practised on the
Agency
An office of the British Government and, earlier, of the East India Company. by himself and others in recent years, as there was a chance moreover that some compensation might thereby be secured for the Company, and, finally, as some sort of diversion was necessary in order to prevent the Persians from harassing the retirement from the
Agency
An office of the British Government and, earlier, of the East India Company. , which was situated at a distance from the sea and was sur rounded by houses and walls, Mr. Douglas resolved—apparently on his own responsibility—to attack the Persian fort and the old Dutch Factory. In the latter building, which had been in possession of the Persians since about three years, the Naib resided and was supposed to * This may have been the father-in-law of Ja'far Khan, who had been placed in charge of the town on the 10th of J anuary : see page 109 post.

Part 1A contains an 'Introduction' (pages i-iii) written by Birdwood in Simla, dated 10 October 1914. There is also a 'Table of Chapters, Annexures, Appendices and Genealogical Tables' (page v-viii) and 'Detailed Table of Contents' (pages ix-cxxx), both of which cover all volumes and parts of the Gazetteer .

Volume I, Part I has been divided into two bound volumes (1A and 1B) for ease of binding. Part 1A contains an 'Introduction', 'Table of Chapters, Annexures, Appendices and Genealogical Trees' and 'Detailed Table of Contents'. The content is arranged into nine chapters, with accompanying annexures, that relate to specific geographic regions in the
Persian Gulf
Historically used by the British to refer to the sea area between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Often referred to as The Gulf or the Arabian Gulf. . The chapters are sub-divided into numbered periods according, for example, to the reign of a ruler or regime of a Viceroy, or are arbitrarily based on outstanding land-marks in the history of the region. Each period has been sub-divided into subject headings, each of which has been lettered. The annexures focus on a specific place or historical event. Further subject headings also appear in the right and left margins of the page. Footnotes appear occasionally at the bottom of the page to provide further details and references.

Volume I, Part IA: The sequence begins on the first folio with text, on number 1, and ends on the last folio with text, on number 456. Total number of folios: 456. Total number of folios including covers and flysheets: 460.

Volume I, Part IB: The sequence begins on the first folio with text, on number 457, and ends on the last folio with text, on number 878. It should be noted that folio 488 is followed by folio 488A. Total number of folios: 423. Total number of folios including covers and flysheets: 427.